Pakistan TikTok star hogs limelight saying she’s married to Sindh minister
Bilawal Bhutto branded allegations ‘conspiracy to divert attention from real problems’
Islamabad: Pakistan’s TikTok star Hareem Shah is back in news, grabbing the major chunk of time on TV talk shows.
This time, however, it is not an affair with some minister or a spicy interview with some religious figure but a legal act of marriage that has attracted public attention.
After her ‘revelation’ earlier this week that she married a sitting minister in the Sindh government, where the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is in power, the Pakistani media is anxious to know who the person could be. Sindh cabinet members are facing questions in press conferences and seminars.
Travelling to Turkey with ‘husband’
On June 29, Hareem Shah had posted pictures on social media where she is seen in bridal wear, and stated she will be travelling to Turkey with her husband whose name she would soon disclose.
‘My hands are clean’
Minister for Education in Sindh, Saeed Ghani, when asked by a journalist if he was the husband, showed both his hands (with no wedding ring), and said: “My hands are clean.”
Sindh IT Minister Taimur Talpur has also dismissed allegations saying it was all about gaining a ‘publicity stunt’.
Even the PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was asked the question during a press conference in Islamabad.
The young Bhutto, while refuting media reports, called the allegations a “conspiracy to divert attention from real-life problems”.
He added “no such thing had happened and such rumours have no value”.
While talking to a news channel about the reason for keeping it under wraps, the Tik Tok star said “I would disclose the name, if it were up to me, but it’s my husband who wants to keep it a secret until he persuades his first wife.”
Court reverses decision to ban TikTok
Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court (SHC) bench on Friday rescinded its earlier decision to ban TikTok.
The authorities had blocked the social media app after the court June 28 order based on a citizen’s petition that the company was promoting obscenity.
However, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority approached the court for reviewing its order and promised to deal with the complaints about homosexuality by July 5.
The court, while reversing its earlier decision, adjourned the hearing until July 5.
Information Minister welcomes court order
Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry in a tweet welcomed the SHC’s order saying the IT companies were engaged in propaganda against one another and “our judges and regulatory bodies should remain above board. We should welcome whoever invests in Pakistan.”
Chinese-owned TikTok was shut down twice before in Pakistan because of alleged “indecent” content recently in March, after which the company pledged to better moderate content.
It said Wednesday it had removed more than six million videos from its Pakistan service in the past three months alone - around 15 per cent featuring “adult nudity and sexual activities”.
